


A Cold Day In Hell

by SparkleElixir



Series: The Sounds of the Wasteland [1]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Also the fic assumes that Sole is experienced aka "high leveled", Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Established Relationship, F/M, Female Sole, M/M, MacCready's inner monolouge is sappy, Multi, So it's late in the game, Sole is a sweetie, Sole is just downright adorable, genderless sole, light fluff, male sole, no mention of faction alignment, some cursing aka RJ doesn't hold back in his inner monolouge
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-14
Updated: 2016-08-26
Packaged: 2018-07-21 23:15:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7409008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SparkleElixir/pseuds/SparkleElixir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He promised Sole that he would never let anything happen to them. He swore to whatever god was listening that he would die before he watched someone he loved get hurt. Again. And now here he is, fulfilling that promise, and wondering how it all came to this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Moment of Bliss (remastered)

**Author's Note:**

> I worked really hard to keep both Sole's gender and appearance open to the reader. 
> 
> (mostly so anyone can imagine their own Sole in this situation!)

It started out normal enough.

The morning was warm. Dust was floating slowly through the rafters. I remember how nice Sole’s skin looked, bathed in the light that was seeping through. Their arms were wrapped around me like always, with their nose nudging my chest. I had a hand resting softly behind their neck.

  
I love mornings like that. It feels like a small bite of domestic life. For a few hours, we’re at peace. Deathclaws and raiders become a distant threat, their snarling maws and booming voices dissolve from our minds. The roaming packs of ferals disintegrate as quickly as they can appear in the wasteland. Ringing gunfire quietly fades into background noise. If you stay in bed late enough, you can hear the busy bustle of the market leaking through the walls. While using my fingers to map the soft skin on the back of Sole’s neck as they slept, I listened to the tell-tale noises of Diamond City. Arturo skillfully selling arms, Solomon lazily advertising chems, and Moe shouting bullshit about baseball.

  
Baseball, according to Sole, is nothing like Moe claims. Every time we walk past Moe’s swatter stand I swear their blood pressure sky rockets! Sometimes, if you look real close, you can catch their fingers twitching above the gun on their hip. One time, they actually tried to explain the rules of baseball to him. That guy must really be thick in the head, because when a heavily armed pre-war badass tells you you’re wrong about something…Oh God, you should’ve seen the look on Moe’s face when Sole finally just gave in and called him a dumbass. I still can’t walk past that stand without laughing.

Yeah. A bite of domestic life. A moment of bliss.

Sole stirred against me, shifting their weight on the bed. We hiked here all the way from Goodneighbor in the dead of night. I told them we should’ve stopped somewhere to rest, but Sole wouldn’t have it. Stubborn little fucker, that one. We barely made it up the stairs before they collapsed in bed, blue jumpsuit and all.  
I’m gonna be honest with you. I don’t deserve them. I never did anything good for anybody before I met Sole. I was selfish. I couldn’t even comprehend the fact that Sole was willing to help me with the Gunners, even before knew what I was asking. I never would’ve done those things without some sort of payment. Caps were all I cared about. What karma did I cash in to get someone as wonderful as them?

  
As I tried to make out what sort of chem Solomon was featuring today, I heard Sole mumble a soft “morning” before feeling them tighten their grip around me. Sole’s sleepy clinginess made me smile.

  
“Well hello there, gorgeous. Sleep well?”

  
“Like a baby,” Sole grinned, “which is good, because we have to take out that super mutant nest today.”

  
Sole’s -quite frankly annoying- words made me groan. And rub my face in despair. And die a little bit inside. Alright, maybe I’m being a little dramatic. But have you ever had a mutant strap a fucking nuke to himself and promptly explode right in front of your face? Not a fun way to spend your Sunday. I hate those things almost as much as I hate ferals.

  
But of course, Sole merely laughed at my excruciating pain. Typical.

  
“Would you feel better if I said we’d stop by the noodle stand on the way out of town?” Sole chirped.

  
“Not really.”

  
Sole lifted their head and placed a sweet kiss on my chin. “Come on RJ, we should try to get back by nightfall,” they mumbled through closed lips still pressed to my skin.  
“You didn’t seem to care too much about that last night,” I scoffed, “since you were the one who wanted to walk all the way here in the dark.”

  
“I had the light on my pipboy!” they pouted.

  
“Yeah, and every ass- ...sorry, jerk, in the Commonwealth could see you glowing like an irradiated ghoul.”

  
Sighing, I kissed Sole’s forehead and reluctantly twisted out of their grasp. Something beneath me creaked from the movement, but whether it was the bed or the floorboards, you could never tell. I stretched my arms over my head, and with a glance over my shoulder I saw Sole was doing the same.

Sole caught me looking and shot me a sloppy and sleepy grin. “Hey, we’ll pop into Vadim’s before we leave.”

“I’d kill for a drink…” I groaned.

  
“Come to think of it, I have.” Sole finished.

  
“Oh, so you’re making fun of me now?”

“All in a day’s work!” Sole laughed. They smugly gave me a smile of victory before laughing off the bed to put on a fresh pair of clothes.

  
After lacing out boots and collecting a supply of stimpacks, we did a quick ammunition inventory, but nothing extensive. We’ve taken out plenty of super mutants since we started traveling together. One small pack is just a drop in the well at this point, and surely nothing to worry about. Before long, we were on our way to the next “pest extermination” job.

  
Right before twisting the knob to the front door, Sole casually said “Hey, let’s to Arturo’s before we leave. I want to grab some extra mines.”

  
Nothing about that statement seemed strange, or concerning. Why shouldn’t we buy mines? Hell, might as well grab some frags, too. I wanted this job done sooner rather than later. And why shouldn’t we go wipe out the fiends? They’re camped closed to the city, and the way I see it, it’s a travel hazard. That’s certainly the last thing we need, considering how much time we spend wandering around the wasteland. And why shouldn’t Sole take the lead? I’ve always got their back, and a sniper can’t do their job at the front lines.

 

God, but looking back? I’d give anything to stop them from walking out that damned door.


	2. Quiet Obervations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sole gathers supplies for the mission.  
> MacCready has other things on his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tbh I like this chapter much more than the first. Hopefully you like it as much as me!

"Nan-ni shimasho-ka?"

I stammered out a "yes" before sliding a small amount caps across the counter. The robot handed over two bowls I took them graciously. Sole motioned for me to follow and smiled their million dollar smile.

 

While noisily slurping down their cup of noodles, Sole lead me around the twisting walks of Diamond City. I marveled at their sudden turns and dark detours while I struggled to keep up. They jumped off the walk and prompted me to duck under the stand's ancient support beams. I felt some of the green paint chip off in my hand. Sole had an agenda, and the sun was settling high in the sky. They were like a solar panel, the warmth fueling them and urging them to go faster.

They knew the streets of this city like I knew Goodneighbor. With the Gunners breathing down your neck, you need to know where every alley and escape route is. I've learned that time spent memorizing a town's layout can never be time wasted.

So that's to say that Sole knows this place like the back of their hand.

Sole dragged their hand across the wall while we walked. The hollow sound of our boots on the pallets and the soft scraping of their fingernails against the tin melded together in a soft wooden and metallic melody.

"Arturo’s next?" they said, interrupting the song and startling me.

A beat passed before I managed a "Yeah", allowing the orchestra to continue until we reached our destination.

 

"Buying insurance?" Arturo asked.

Sole laughed. "Yeah, what sort of plans are you offering? What will it cover?"

"Your life, hopefully!"

"Yeah that'd be preferable," I inserted.

Arturo smiled at us. "Well, with MacCready watching your back, I'm sure you'll be fine. Need any rifle ammo?"

Before I could decline, Sole nodded and added that to their bill.

"Ammo, fragmentation mines, molotovs? You must be fighting one hell of a battle." He mused, eyes scanning the collection of products.

Sole shifted their weight. "Well, the war on super mutants is most certainly an ongoing battle."

Arturo crinkled his nose in distaste. His reaction wasn't unexpected. Nobody liked the brutes. Once Sole told me stories of a scientist who turned himself mutant on purpose in order to hide from rabbit synth hunters. Or was it rabid? I didn’t really pay much attention to that one. I kind of got distracted by their moving lips. And eyes. And hands. Sole never got to tell me what happened to him. I should ask them about it later.

Soon we were toting a bag full of supplies, both ammunition and stimpacks accounted for. A glance at the sky told me it was noon. Plenty of sunlight for the trip to the nest, but we’d be cutting it close on the way back.

“Hey, babe, we gotta get going.” I said, gently placing a hand on their shoulder, feeling it slump under my touch.

“I promised you we’d stop by the bar…”

“And I promised I’d go with you today, and that won’t happen if we don’t get a move on.” I interjected.

Sole smiled at me, and kissed my cheek, leaving me feeling completely and utterly happy. It was so overwhelming to have someone finally care about me, to finally think about how I feel or what I may want in life. I had someone who wanted to get to know me and love me for who I really am. Not as an honorable solider, but as a selfish mercenary with a soft spot for family. But that’s okay, I think. Because Sole loves me. You can bet your ass I’m still working to be the dad I should be for when Duncan’s better, but… I don’t think there’s anything wrong with who I am. Not anymore.

Looking at Sole always makes me feel so damn warm. It’s like guzzling a bottle of Vodka, I guess. My entire body ignites and I get dizzy but oh is it the good kind of dizzy. Like the Earth is spinning a little faster, and my stomach can’t keep up but it’s okay because I have Sole to anchor me.

It didn’t start out like that, though. Man! I thought Sole was fucking crazy! When they first hired me, they dragged me along on all kinds of weird vendettas. Talking brewing machines, giant mirelurks, and baby deathclaws? And that was only the first month. But I went along with it, mostly because the caps were good. Partially because of how _magnetic_ they were. Whether they were softly humming a pre-war song, or walking around drenched in the blood of whatever we fought most recently, they pulled me in. As crazy as they were and as paranoid as they made me, I traveled with them. Before I knew what was happening, I was getting comfortable with Sole.

I began to notice little things. When they were smiling mischievously, I knew they had another new plan brewing. I could pick on the tiniest changes in their tone of voice; when it was angry, sad, hurt.

Before I knew it, I was friends with Sole. They had put their neck out to help me with the Gunners, and I was shook to my core. I couldn’t comprehend someone doing something so selfless. Especially for the likes of me. Even while we were racing across a crumbling overpass surrounded by gunfire- and regular fire for that matter- I was in utter disbelief.

I started to notice even more. When they wrapped their arms around themselves, they were more likely to be thinking of a bad memory than trying to stay warm. I saw how strained their smile was when they saw the kids running the bases.

Then I started to care for Sole. I was bolder in battle; rushing in and putting myself in more danger. I told them about Duncan and begged for help, but I really didn’t need to. They were ready to help before I even opened my mouth. Fuck, it hurt to have to barrel through Med-Tek and see it infested with ghouls. If that was some sick joke, then I’m still waiting on the punchline.

And then Sole told me that they loved me. I felt my world finally shift into place. I could practically _see_ my perspective changing. I was baffled and light headed and most of all confused. _God_ it was like I was dying. I just looked at them and thought “ _I hope they brought stimpacks because I think my heart just stopped.”_

So there I was, walking arm in arm with the love of my life, and leaving the gleaming gates of Diamond City behind.

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to give a HUGE shout out to my really good friend DreamWritingQueen. She's starting a new OUAT fic on here that I've had the absolute pleasure to help edit. If you like Once Upon A Time I highly suggest you check it out!
> 
> Sidenote: Bonus points to anyone who knows why MacCready hates ferals so much. (Feel free to both comment and cry about it with me)


End file.
